Thill-coupling



UNITE STATES AUGUSTUS F. MOLTZEN, or 'OAKIJAND, CALIFORhlIA.

TH'lLL-C OUPLING. i

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentNo. 381L267, datedApril 17,188

Application filed October 5, I887.

Tofa ll whom it may concerm 7 Be it known that I, AUeUsTUs F. MOLTZEN,

ofOakland, Alameda county, State of Galifornia, have invented an Improvementv in Thin-Couplings; and I. hereby declare the foltion of the same.

lo'wihgto be a full, clear, and exact descrip My invention relates to .the class of thilla. couplings; and it consists in the adjustable tening or releasing the shafts.

Referring to the accompanying drawings for 4 a more complete explanation of myinvention,

Figure 1 is a perspectiveview, of my thillcoupling. Fig. 2 isa 'view of latch-plate E. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section of the coupling. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of bearing-plate A.

A is the bearing-plate provided with a rearwardly-extending slotted shank, a, forming a 1 yoke and having a serrated or toothed under surface, of." The bearing plate is provided with a socket, a, terminating at its rear end in .recesses' 0t and at its forward end in shoulders a, anda rivet, a, passes transversely of said piece below the socket. B is the clip, which passes over the axle G, and has its bolt ends b-passing down through the slotted yoke-shank a of the bearing-piece and tightened down by means of nuts I).

' Between the nut on the rear bolt end and the serrated under surface of the shank a is a correspondingly serrated or toothed washer,

b, the object of which is to keep that bolt end or leg ofthe clip imposition when said clip is expanded to fit a larger-sized axle. For exam;-

ple, when the clip fits over an axle which is apparently too large for it, the back endor leg of the clip is sprung .backwardly, moving-in the slot of the yoke shank until the clip comes down to'its placeonthe axle, when by tight- Serial mistress. (No model.)

ening the nut upon the'rear bolt end', b, the toothed washer b isforced'to its engagement: with the toothed under su1'face,a,of the yoke'-" shank a, thereby holding the bolt end'orrleg .in the position to which it has been spfrung,.fl

in order toffit the axle.

D is a shaft-1ron,.1n the forked rear end'Of which is the c'rosspin d,"on which-is pivoted the latch-plate E. Theshaft-ironpasses down on each side of the bearing-plate A, the pivoted latch E entering the socket a" therein,

while the cross-pin d seats itself in the recess a at the rear end ofthe socket,the latch itself a j 5 I end or edge into the shoulder a at the forward 1 x being forced forwardly and fitting its forward end'of the socket; I Now in order to keep the.

latch in this position,so that it cannot risfe. from any jolting or-jarring to which the coup- I ling is subjected, and also to prevent any rattling of the parts, I have the U-spring F, one arm of which passes down and is held under the rivet a whileflthe other arm passesv down ing the forward edge of the'latch-in the shoul der afiof the socket a. I t I In'order to provide for releasing the coupling, I have pivoted in'the forward'top ofthe I a thumb-piece, g, and at the other end a shoull der, g, which, when the lever is turned backwardly into place, is in line with the shoulder bearing-plate A a lever, G, having on'one end a*'at the forward end of the bearing-socket. Now, in making thecoupling the forward edge socket a and placed as heretofore described] whereby the lever is drawn down with it until the parts. are all seated, the spring F holding them. 1 Y

of the latch ,E is first placed in theshoulder g 3 of the lever G, and is then fitted down in the To effect the uncoupling, thelever G isj] thrown backwardlyby its thumb-piece, sothat its shoulder g',.pressing against the, forward edge of the latch E, in trying to rise first effectsa slight backward movement of the latch j against the spring F, sufficient .to release its 4 forward edge from the shoulders at of the socket, whereupon the latch may be turnedup.

by throwing backthe lever, ,and the shaft:

iron may then be removed from the bearingplate- Having thus described my invention,what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In athill-coupling, the con1bination,with the bearing-plate secured to the axle, having the socket a, of a shaft-iron having the cross pin d, the latch pivoted thereon within the socketed-bearing-plate, and a spring having one arm bearing against the cross-pin and forcing said latch to its seat in thesocket, substantially as described.

2. In a thill-coupling, the combination of the bearing-plate secured to the axle and having a socket with recesses at one end and shoulders at the other, a shaft-iron having. the cross-pin d, a latch within the socketed bearing-plate and pivoted on said pin, a spring bearing against said pin and holding the latch in its seat, and a lever pivoted in the forward end of the bearing-plate and having its lower portion engaging the forward edge of the latch, whereby the latch may be thrown from its engagement with the shoulders of the socket, substantially as described.

3. In a thill-coupling, a bearing-plate secured to the axle, and having a socket with recesses at one end and shoulders at the other, in combination with a shaft-iron having a forked rear end, a transverse pivot-pin between the forks of the shaft-iron for fitting in the recesses of the socketed bearing-piece, and a latch pivoted on the pin for fittingin the socketed bearing-piece and engaging with its forward edge the shoulders of said socket, substantially as herein described.

4. In a thill-coupling, a bearing-plate secured to the axle and having a socket with recesses at one end and shoulders at the other, in combination with a shaft-iron having a pivot-pin in its rear end for fitting the recesses of the socket, a latch-plate pivoted on the pin for fitting in the socket and engaging with its forward edge the shouldersin said socket, and the spring seated inthe socketed bearing-plate for holding the latch, forward to its engagement, substantially as herein described.

5. In a thill-coupling, a bearing-plate secured to the axle and having a socket with recesses at one end and shoulders at the other, in combination with the shaft-iron having the pivot-pin for fitting the recesses of the socket, a latch pivoted on the pin for fitting the socket and engaging with its forward edge the shoulders therein, a spring seated in the socket for holding the latch to its engagement, and a lever pivoted to the forward end of the bearingplate and engaging with its lower end the forward edge of the latch, whereby the latch may be thrown from its engagement with the shoulders of thesocket, substantially as herein described.

6. In a thill-coupling, the bearingpla'te for receiving the shaft connection, and having a rearwardly-extending slotted yoke or shank provided with teeth on its under surface, in combination with a clip fitting over the axle and having its bolt ends 'passing down through the slots of the yoke or shank, the, nut for holding'the clip, and a toothed washer held by one of the nuts to the toothed under surface of the yoke or shank, whereby the bolt end of the clip may be adjusted and held to different positions, substantially as herein described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

AUGUSTUS F. MOLTZEN; Witnesses:

S.H. NoURsE, H. 0. LEE. 

